During the first half of the nineteenth century, opportunities
for college preparatory studies were limited in central Pennsylvania.
Prospective students needed an ability to read Latin and Greek in order
to master the collegiate curriculum, which was centered on these classical
languages. Ministers, private tutors, and Academies provided such instruction.
On October 5, 1846, Stephen W. Taylor and his son, Alfred, opened a
“high school” for boys and girls “in the lecture room
of the Baptist Church” in Lewisburg. This school prepared the
boys for collegiate studies.

Thomas U. Walter and the Construction of the Academy

On February 25, 1848, ground was broken for the Academy Building, which
was completed by January 1849 and was occupied in April of the same
year, when the boys and girls moved there from the basement of the Baptist
meeting house. This was the first building to be erected on the new
seventy-acre campus and was located in the area that became known as
The Hill. The classical Greek style building was designed by Thomas
Ustick Walter (1804-1887), who was the architect of the National Capitol
dome and wings, and was built at a cost of approximately $ 8,000.00.
Local workmen did the construction: “Noll and Crites had the carpenter
work, L.B. Christ the brick and plastering; brick-work was let to Reed
& Baker, painting to Metzger & Munson.” The building was
named the Academy Building of the University at Lewisburg.

The Academy Building, 1849-1860

In 1852, the Female Institute became a separate department of the University
and the girls moved to the Casey Mansion. The first college classes
were held in the Academy Building, and, “This [sharing] arrangement
continued until the college building was completed.” In 1860,
the building was “fitted up for a boarding school for boys and
young men” at a cost of $ 2,000.00 to provide sixteen dormitory
rooms, a dining hall and a suitable apartment for a family as well as
a classroom.

Courses of Study

The Academy offered a Preparatory Course to prepare boys for the College
as well as a course that was designed to prepare young men to be teachers:

Great care is taken to prepare pupils for admission to College, whether
in the Scientific or Classical course.

Young men desiring to fit themselves to teach in Public Schools,
will be accommodated with a course of study designed to prepare them
for that work.

The Catalogue provided a concise overview of the curriculum
of the Academy:

The studies of the Academy are-- Orthography, Reading, English Grammar,
Analysis and Composition, Ancient and Modern Geography, Mental and
Written Arithmetic, Book-keeping, Algebra, Geometry, Natural Philosophy,
Chemistry, Physiology and Hygiene, History of the United States, Universal
History, Latin Grammar, Caesar, Virgil, Cicero, Greek Grammar, and
Greek Reader.

Exercises in Declamation and Composition are required of every student
on Friday afternoons.

There will an exhibition of the Senior Academic Class on the Monday
evening preceding the close of the Winter Term.

For the 1865-1866 Academic Year, students enrolled in the Academy took
a three-year course of subjects to complete the academic program. A
specific text was prescribed for most of these subjects.

First Year

Term I

Mental Arithmetic
Geography
English Composition
Latin and Greek Lessons through the year

At this time, there were no public high schools in central Pennsylvania
and the high school movement did not really begin until the 1880's.

Accommodations, Board and Costs

Students in the Academy lived at home, with families in the surrounding
area, in the Academy Building or in the College Building. The Catalogue
described the accommodations provided in the University:

The Academy Building is on University Hill, and affords ample accommodations.
It has recently been fitted up to accommodate boarders; and students
from abroad will room and board in the Academy, with the Teachers,
and be under their care. Every effort has been made to arrange the
building with reference to the comfort of pupils, and they are much
more agreeably situated than they would be in private families. They
have a parlor for their use. Their private rooms are designed, each,
to accommodate two students, and are furnished. In the school room,
each student is provided with a separate desk and chair....

Academy students of suitable age are allowed to occupy rooms in the
College Building, in which case they will board in the Academy, but
will furnish their own rooms and pay for rent and warming of rooms,
as College students.

In 1865, the tuition for all classes per term was $8.00. Board and
a furnished room was $40.00; fuel for the public rooms was $1.50. Students
also paid .50 per term for the care and cleaning of the public rooms.The
boys were also assessed a $1.00 fee for "repairs by general average."
In 1865, three teachers taught one hundred and twenty boys in the Academy.

"high school" Oliphant, p. 31; Linn,
p. 546

"in the lecture room..." Linn, p. 546

"Noll and Crites had..." Linn, p. 549

"this arrangement continuted..." Mauser, p.
77

"fitted up for a boarding..." Mauser, p. 78

"Great care is taken..." CAT '64-'65,
p. 24

"The studies of the..." ib.

"The Academy Building..." ib., pp. 23-24

"Academy students of..." ib., p. 24

"repairs by..." BT '46-'82, p. 451
(7/26/1865)

The major source for the information on this page is
the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1846-1882
(BT '46-'82). Additional sources are Oliphant, Rise of
Bucknell; Theiss, Centennial History; Mauser, Centennial
History; Linn, Annals; and the University At Lewisburg
1864-1865 15th Annual Catalogue (CAT '64-'65) and the
University At Lewisburg 1865-1866 16th Annual Catalogue (CAT
'65-'66).